1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to aids for securing a trailer to a towing vehicle and, more particularly, to a trailer hitch coupling kit for aiding in coupling the tow ball of a towing vehicle and the socket of a trailer coupler, by enabling the driver of the towing vehicle to view the tow ball and a guidepost mounted on the trailer drawbar while in the driver's seat.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known that connecting a trailer to a towing vehicle is a difficult task when performed by one person. The difficulty arises from the need to position the tow ball of the towing vehicle under the socket of the trailer coupler. Typically, when a lone person backs a towing vehicle toward a trailer, neither the tow ball nor the trailer coupler are visible while he or she is in the driver's seat of the towing vehicle. Therefore, he or she must maneuver the vehicle back and forth numerous times, getting out of the vehicle each time to check on the positioning of the tow ball and trailer coupler socket until he or she has positioned the tow ball just beneath the trailer coupler socket. Although a mirror attached to the rear of the towing vehicle can enable the driver to see the tow ball as he or she backs up, such a mirror cannot enable the driver to also see the trailer coupler until the driver has already aligned the tow ball fairly close to it. Thus, a need exists for a better means of connecting a trailer to a towing vehicle.
Numerous patents teach a mirror assembly that mounts to the rear of a vehicle. These include U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,376 issued Mar. 6, 1990 to R. P. Neeley (apparatus for facilitating trailer hitch element alignment); U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,287 issued May 15, 1990 to B. Lord et al. (mirror assembly for facilitating hitch element alignment); U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,342 issued May 5, 1992 to D. M. Quesada (hitch-viewing mirror assembly); U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,182 issued Jan. 19, 1993 to J. R. Haworth (trailer hitch alignment device); U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,337 issued May 17, 1994 to T. L. Byers (attachable vehicle mirror); U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,310 issued Jan. 9, 1996 to J. L. Staggs (trailer hitch mirror alignment device); U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,500 issued Apr. 29, 1997 to B. Ackerman (hitching mirror); U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,175 issued Aug. 12, 1997 to J. D. Brewington (reflector device for aligning the complementary components of a trailer hitch); U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,213 issued Jul. 21, 1998 to G. Howard (backup mirror for tow vehicle); U.S. Pat. No. 5,825,564 issued Oct. 20, 1998 to K. P. Mazarac (rear-mounted vehicle mirror); U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,555 issued Oct. 26, 1999 to L. M. Wilcox et al. (hitch viewing mirror assembly and method); U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,423 issued Aug. 15, 2000 to H. S. Beck et al. (visual alignment aid for connecting trailers); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,685 issued Sep. 16, 2003 to G. Q. Teague (universal trailer hitch mirror system).
Although useful for viewing a tow ball from the driver's seat of a towing vehicle, each of these devices has several drawbacks when used to couple the vehicle and a trailer. First, while each device provides a view of the tow ball, none also provides the driver with a reference to the location of the trailer coupler and, thus, each device is only useful to a driver once he or she has positioned the towing ball fairly close to the trailer coupler. Second, none of the devices easily adjusts into the position presenting the best view of the tow ball and provides a means for recording that position. Third, none of the devices disassembles and stores easily.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,554 issued Dec. 14, 1993 to B. J. Law (trailer hitch alignment guide); U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,056 issued May 1, 1994 to A. F. Faith, IV (trailer hitch guide); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,612,603 issued Sep. 2, 2003 to M. D. Alger (trailer hitch alignment system) each teaches a guidepost for attachment to the tow ball of a towing vehicle and a guidepost for attachment to a trailer couple. The top of each guidepost is visible from the rear view mirror within a towing vehicle thereby allowing the tow ball to be positioned close to the trailer coupler. However, because none of these devices includes a mirror mountable to the rear of the towing vehicle, it is difficult to align the trailer hitch socket precisely over the tow ball.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a trailer hitch guide solving the aforementioned problems is desired.